Swedish Match challenges Rizla with 3m relaunch of Swan brand
Swedish Match is relaunching its Swan range of cigarette papers, filters, matches and lighters in an effort to make roll-ups more respectable and to steal share from Imperial-owned rival Rizla.
The 3m investment includes a poster and press advertising campaign created by Mellors Reay & Partners and a sponsorship deal with London’s Jongleurs Comedy Club.
It will be the first major campaign for Swan Vesta matches in about ten years.
Simon Duggan, marketing director for Swedish Match, says: “Our brand positioning is very much about offering a cleaner image for roll-your-own and giving the confidence to people to come out and roll-your-own in public.”
The company aims to increase Swan’s share in filters and papers, which are growth areas in the smokers’ accessories sector. The sector is estimated to be worth 166m. Swedish Match hopes to snatch market leadership in papers from Rizla.
New packaging, using the key colours of red, green and yellow to form a Swan icon, has been created to achieve a consistent image for the range.
Product development has also resulted in papers with in-pack cardboard roaches, pre-cut filter tips and extra-slimline filter tips.
Swan’s repositioning follows the 75 per cent growth in the roll your-own market since 1992, ascribed to continued hefty in-creases in cigarette duty and in-creased tobacco smuggling from the continent.
